In addition, 26 per cent were forced to work at the kitchen or dining room, 37 per cent in their spare room and 10 per cent ‘hot desked’ around the house. The survey, of 1,000 UK home workers, revealed that basing your business at home can lead to distraction and a cluttered working environment.
However, 70 per cent still felt that working from home still provided them with the flexibility to work the hours that best suited them, as well as 56 per cent claiming that the relaxed environment helped aid productivity. The dangers of basing your business at home can also come from the amount of electronic equipment that can build up within small areas.
7 per cent of people have 10 or more cables – or an average of 12 metres of wiring strangling their home office.
Giovanni Giusti, managing director at Lexmark UK, said: “The perception of the home office is that it offers more freedom and flexibility and is a modern and comfortable way to work.
“Our research shows the reality is that people are suffering the worst conditions: working in dark, cramped and uncomfortable spaces, forced to give up room to various pieces of office technology and strangled by miles of cables and wiring.” Belgium and Luxembourg are the most technologically advanced in Europe, 18 per cent of those polled having wireless access at home, compared to only 8 per cent in the UK.